Remakes. Seems like Hollywood is at it again. After all the major publicity and promos that “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” had packed in, one wouldn’t be hard-pressed to think that a remake would not be able to compete (let alone be noticed) with an expected money-maker such as that successful franchise. Ok, I know that doesn’t have anything to do with director Paul Haggis’ “The Next Three Days” besides their release dates but I had to … more

What part of our lives is truly under our control? And herein lies the story of a man trying to keep things in control in his life. He attempts to keep his family intact by trying to rescue his wife from imprisonment for a crime she didn’t commit! The key to escape. Escaping is easy, according to a past convict. The hardest part of thing is to leave… ask yourself, IF you can do it. What entails doing it is to lose one’s identity and all that you’ve … more

This got totally eclipsed at the box office by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, and for obvious reasons. This also got fairly mixed reviews from critics and I can definitely see why. The Next Three Days isn't heinous or terrible or anything, but its not spectacular by any means and is just plain forgettable. I was never really much of a Russell Crowe fan myself, and I still am rather indifferent towards him, but I can't deny that he is good in this movie, along with Elizabeth … more

Two themes play out in this film: a Don Quixote unrealistic quest and fate. A man is totally oblivious to the fact that evidence proves that his wife killed a woman; she was convicted at trial, and lost her appeals. He is in love with her and determined to find a way to break her out of jail. As with the unrealistic Don Quixote, he gets into one problem after another, including being beat up and not having enough cash to carry out his plan. He resorts to robbery. His plan is perfect, but fate intervenes. … more

What this film needs: 1. Decent secondary characters to make the first two acts more interesting. The roles are there (Olivia Wilde as a neighbor, Brian Denehy as Crowe’s father) but they’re just that – roles. No meat on the bones. 2. Tommy Lee Jones in “The Fugitive.” A decent cop antagonist would do WONDERS for this film. And hey, while he’s trying to foil Crowe’s plan, he could actually tie up the loose ends of whether or not … more

Is it too much to hope that, when a studio has the wherewithal - and budget - to pull together such cinematic luminaries as Russell Crowe, Brian Dennehy and Liam Neeson, that it won't insult its audience's intelligence with the result? Once upon a time, Hollywood threw its big name stars challenging roles, and they produced erudite, artful, memorable and, well, *thrilling* thrillers, like The Silence of the Lambs, L.A. Confidential or Memento. No longer, apparently. Nowadays the best you'll get … more

Hello Lunchers. I am a thirty-something guy making his way in Toronto. I am a banker by day and a film critic the rest of the time. Sensitive, sharp and sarcastic are just a few words that start with … more

Wiki

A woman is accused of murder. This affects the relationship between her and her husband. Her husband, a professor, takes extreme actions in an attempt to free her from prison.

The Next Three Days is a remake of the 2007 French film Pour Elle (Anything for Her) by Fred Cavayé. The plot of Pour Elle involved a teacher Julien (Vincent Lindon) who experienced difficulties when his wife (Diane Kruger) became a suspect in a murder investigation and was arrested. Julien does not believe that his wife is guilty of the crime, and attempts to remove her from the prison.

Pour Elle was Cavayé's directing debut. The film was one of the main attractions of the Alliance Française French Film Festival in 2010. Cavayé explained the plot and motivation for making the film, "We wanted to make a real human story about an ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing because he's faced with a miscarriage of justice. The film also talks about courage - saying how you show courage depending on the situation. In France, for example, there were good people who did not go into the Resistance against the Germans."

Cavayé told The Age regarding the remake of the film by Haggis, he is eager "To be a spectator of my own film". The director commented on the news his film would be remade by Haggis, "It's a strange feeling. I wrote this story in my very small apartment in Paris. When I saw my name next to Russell Crowe ...